diff --git a/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc b/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
index 45c1e1f2c07..4cf4bb68153 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.next.asciidoc
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ https://github.com/elastic/beats/compare/v7.0.0-alpha2...master[Check the HEAD d
 - Fix Elasticsearch license endpoint URL referenced in error message. {issue}17880[17880] {pull}18030[18030]
 - Change `decode_json_fields` processor, to merge parsed json objects with existing objects in the event instead of fully replacing them. {pull}17958[17958]
 - Fix seccomp policy for calls to `chmod` and `chown`. {pull}20054[20054]
+- Output errors when Kibana index pattern setup fails. {pull}20121[20121]
 
 *Auditbeat*
 
diff --git a/libbeat/dashboards/importer.go b/libbeat/dashboards/importer.go
index eb399ba1b3d..178a5837284 100644
--- a/libbeat/dashboards/importer.go
+++ b/libbeat/dashboards/importer.go
@@ -300,7 +300,9 @@ func (imp Importer) ImportKibanaDir(dir string) error {
 
 	// Loads the internal index pattern
 	if imp.fields != nil {
-		imp.loader.ImportIndex(imp.fields)
+		if err = imp.loader.ImportIndex(imp.fields); err != nil {
+			return errw.Wrap(err, "failed to import Kibana index pattern")
+		}
 	}
 
 	dir = path.Join(dir, versionPath)